A hearty thanks to Gov.-Elect Susana Martinez for assuring that my job will remain easy and fun.
For 16 years, with Gary Johnson and Bill Richardson as governors, this job has been a joy.
I woke up every morning knowing they would give me something to write about that day.
Former Gov. Bruce King’s motto was “Let’s keep it between the fence posts.” Not much to write about there.

These days, those thousands of Transportation Security Administration employees are conducting invasive searches, making 3-year-olds scream while they are patted down for weapons, frisking nuns, looking at naked images of your body, and forcing you to throw away perfectly good liquids. And yet our airports are still far from secure.

There is no doubt that Governor-elect Susana Martinez faces a difficult
task. Not only does she have to put together an administration to operate (and hopefully improve) New Mexico’s sprawling government, she now faces a $450 million deficit that must be dealt with in the next legislative
session.
Making the situation even more difficult is the fact that Martinez, during the campaign, seemingly
removed 60 percent of New Mexico’s budget from belt-tightening. Of course, that was based on

You can’t accuse anybody of exploiting
the world-famous church in Las Trampas
for gain.
In front of the church is a dirt parking
area, and across the way is a small, funky
shop, with “La Tienda” painted by hand
over the doorway, where you can find
modestly priced pottery, odd-looking
wood sculptures that are a Pueblo version
of kachina figures, and cold drinks
that you can serve yourself from an old
refrigerator.
Some folks walk in and ask the shop owner if there is a

You can’t accuse anybody of exploiting the world-famous church in Las Trampas for gain.
In front of the church is a dirt parking area, and across the way is a small, funky shop, with “La Tienda” painted by hand over the doorway, where you can find modestly priced pottery, odd-looking wood sculptures that are a Pueblo version of kachina figures, and cold drinks that you can serve yourself from an old refrigerator.

There is no doubt that Governor-elect Susana Martinez faces a difficult task. Not only does she have to put together an administration to operate (and hopefully improve) New Mexico’s sprawling government, she now faces a $450 million deficit that must be dealt with in the next legislative session.

What did I tell you? My column written for Oct. 4, announced a $450 million budget deficit. At the time, the Legislature was predicting a $260 million deficit.
No, I wasn’t part of Gov. Bill Richardson’s “hide the ball” conspiracy that Gov.-Elect Susana Martinez alleges.
My not-so-secret information came from watching the ebb and flow of deficit projections during the past two years.
Even one year ago, Martinez was still chasing drug cartels and her advisers were still back in Washington, D.C. So how were they to know?